Credits:

Fliter, Ingrid

Description:

This is a piece that compares harpsichord music by two composers who were born in Naples and worked across the border. Francesco Araya was born in 1709 and was a court composer in St. Petersburg. Although he did not achieve fame as a musician, he left behind operas and cantatas composed for the court, as well as oratorios and a collection of capriccios for harpsichord. The recorded capriccios are extremely freely composed works with a wide variety of character and sometimes brilliant virtuoso performances. It is a work in which Arraya demonstrates a deep knowledge of the instrument and its playing techniques. Ferdinando Pellegrini, on the other hand, was born in 1715 and worked in Lyon, London, and Paris. Although many details are unknown, there are records of his enrollment at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia. Said to have been called "a true devil on the keyboard," he composed numerous sonatas for solo harpsichord. His style is characterized by graceful phrasing, novel melodies, and repetitive accompaniment formulas.